The present invention relates to a seawall wherein the strength of the wall is achieved through means of earth reinforcement and face panels are provided to prevent sloughing and shield the wall from water intrusion. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with such a wall wherein the earth reinforcing elements comprise perforate polymer sheets, the face panels comprise precast concrete members, and the reinforcing elements are secured to the panels through means of corrosion proof structure.
The prior art teaches providing soil reinforced walls with concrete face panels. One such wall may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,508, coinvented by the inventor herein, wherein reinforcement is provided by welded wire mats and preformed concrete panels are connected to the mats by various techniques, all of which include metal connectors. Other such walls may be seen in the following third-party U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,686,873; 3,925,994; and 4,470,728. These third-party patents are of particular interest in that they teach the use of such walls with reinforcing elements which comprise woven synthetic fabrics, or monolithic plastic sheets. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,925,994 and 4,470,728 teach the concept of clamping such elements between the face panels.
Another patent of interest by the inventor herein is U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,482. Although that patent is not concerned with a wall wherein reinforcing elements are secured to face panels, it is of interest in that it suggests securing the face panels of an anchor wall together through means of tie rods.